Ageism—Is This a Thing?

Written by: Lisa Bayer, Esq., CCM, CDP

The recent decision by the democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, to recuse himself has made me introspect on my own biases and prejudices towards older persons. I think most Americans would agree that the reason that Biden received so much scrutiny from his peers in Congress and democratic constituents throughout the campaign was because of his age, 81, and the age he would have been, 86, at the end of four years. This would have made him the oldest president in U.S. history.

I would argue that he is a victim of ageism and that evaluations of Biden’s presidency should have focused on his policy achievements, governance style, and administrative effectiveness rather than his age alone.  President Biden has continuously “shown up” and the media and his detractors are not relying on any health or evidence-based information to judge his competency and abilities. We are human, after all, and I, like the American public, watched and, admittedly (although I am not proud to admit) judged the president for the wrong reasons.

In light of current events, I feel it is important for myself, as a professional “in the business,” to try to honestly examine my own leanings towards the abilities of older adults and to challenge society’s generalizations. I encourage readers to examine their opinions and views as well.

Whenever I open a new case, I make it a point to never lead with asking the age of the caller or their loved ones. This is not to say that age is unimportant or irrelevant. For example, it is important to know the age of a client facing early dementia symptoms. This is relevant to not just a person’s care needs but also understanding age-related public and private benefits such as commercial health insurance and Social Security/Medicare. The psychosocial supports and needs of a person in their 50’s who are working and still raising their children is not the same as a retired individual with financially dependent adult children.

For my clients in their late 90’s age can be important to appreciate testing and treatments. I often ask families who are considering invasive testing for their loved ones “to what end.” For example, is it reasonable to put a 98-year-old through a colonoscopy? Is the risk/reward of the anesthesia and procedure on a 98-year-old body going to lead to more harm than good?

It is less than 24 hours since President Biden has graciously and patriotically taken himself out of the presidential race. Politics aside, this makes me sad as I know deep down that he did so under pressure because of his age and not because he lacks the ability to serve our country.